One night, So Gone
by gracepresley
Summary: One night changes everything for Jack and Kim. Jack wants things back to the way they were before, but there really is no going back anymore, and Kim is just getting farther and farther away... (KICK, obviously)
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Okay. This is my first Kickin' It fanfiction, since I only started watching it a few days ago (but I'm already on Season 3 and I am addicted and it is literally all I can think about). Problem is, since the show ended so long ago, I'm not sure anyone still writes fanfiction for it? I'm not sure if people are still even into it. I just don't know. I'm new here.**

 **BUT I'm gonna take a stab at this anyway, because seriously I have not shipped anything this hardcore since iJobuscus. I never thought I would ship anything else that hardcore. But here I am. Crying over Olivia's Instagram pictures with her boyfriend and asking God why she can't just date Leo, even though it's her decision and her life and I'm just being stupid. I mean God. It's like I'm eleven again.**

 **I will say this is actually the first fanfiction I have ever written for a TV show, so I'm not even sure how to do that. I honestly have not written any fanfiction that did not involve Toby Turner or iJustine since I was 11. And I'm 16 now. It's so sad.**

 **This is so foreign to me. Not writing about Toby. Actually out of my comfort zone, so bear with me!**

 **Now since I have never written a fanfic for a show, I have never done a disclaimer. I'm going to try to do one of those right now:**

 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own Kickin' It, or any of these characters.**

 **Was that right? I don't know.**

 ** _*This story takes place in season 2, right around the time Kim realizes her feelings for Jack. They're both fourteen._**

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Chapter 1

 **The Day After**

My heart pounded harder with each step I took closer to the dojo. I hated that I had practice that day. All I wanted was to go back home. I just couldn't face Kim. I was able to avoid her all day at school, but karate practice was different, being that there were only five students in the dojo, plus Rudy always paired Kim and me together, since we were the only two black belts.

Now, any other time seeing Kim would be the highlight of my day. I did have feelings for her. I had ever since I first met her. But that particular day was different because of the night it followed.

 _It was a mistake_ , I kept telling himself, and it was true. It would actually turn out to be one of the biggest mistakes I had ever made, even though at the time it just seemed like a little one. Like a mistake that would create a few awkward moments between Kim and me, but as time passed it would all blow over, and things would go back to normal. Though that wouldn't be the case.

I had taken the long way to the dojo, entering the mall from the other side. But too soon I ended up in front of Falafel Phil's, looking in the window at Eddie and Jerry and Milton, feeling my heart jumping up into my throat. I felt as if I might vomit.

But I didn't see Kim.

Well maybe she wouldn't even show. Maybe she was just as nervous as me, and maybe she convinced her Dad to let her stay home. I liked the thought of that.

I smiled slightly, deciding that was probably what happened, then went to the front door of the dojo, feeling a lot better.

When I entered, the three boys all turned to me and smiled.

"Jaaaack," Jerry said, dragging out my name in a playful way. He took a few steps so that he was right in front of me.

Milton and Eddie both followed, each of them raising their eyebrows at me.

"What?" I asked, confused.

I started to panic. There was no way they could have possibly known about what happened. I hadn't told them, and Kim would never tell them anything like that. So what were they talking about?

"Kim was asking where you were. She seemed really worried," Jerry told me, wiggling his eyebrows at me. He laughed, then put a hand on my shoulder. "She is so into you, man!"

Relief flooded over me. It was just Jerry being normal, annoying Jerry. He'd been teasing me about Kim since we first met. Nothing new.

Except that meant that Kim was there.

"Wait, where's Kim?" I asked, getting nervous again. My heart beat faster.

"Aw, you're worried too. That is so cute. You two are the cutest!" Jerry joked, pinching my cheek.

I rolled my eyes at him, then took hold of his hand. I twisted his arm, not enough to seriously hurt him, but enough to get him to stop bugging me.

"Ow! Okay! Sorry! I apologize. I'll shut up about it," Jerry surrendered.

I let go of his arm, and when I did, I heard a voice behind me, one that made every part of my body shake.

"Woah! What's going on?"

Kim. Yes, she really was there. I turned around to see her standing in the doorway in front of the bathrooms. In one hand she was holding onto her dress, the one she had worn to school that day (a pretty pink dress that she looked amazing in, and one I had never seen before). She was just changing her clothes. Of course she was there. Of course she had to be there, because nothing ever really went smoothly for me.

"Uh, nothing," I answered her question quite nervously, then added, while trying to sound more calm, "Just… Jerry being stupid."

"Again?" She asked, placing a hand on her hip, feigning annoyance.

Jerry jokingly flipped her off just as Rudy walked out of his office.

"Hey!" Rudy exclaimed, looking right at Jerry. Jerry put his finger down and gave him a smile. Rudy shook his head. "Teenagers these days," he said not-so-seriously. He didn't really mind when we goofed off and did stuff like that. In fact, when it was just me and him, I could say practically anything I wanted.

"All right," Rudy spoke loudly, clapping his hands together, and that was how we knew practice was really about to start. We listened then. It was more serious then. "Jack and Kim, spar. Milton and Jerry, spar. Eddie, practice with the dummy," Rudy ordered just as I expected him to.

Milton and Jerry put on their gear and went over to the mat. Eddie huffed, then sadly walked to the dummy and started punching. I looked at Kim, felt my chest tighten as she looked back at me and smiled. I gave her a weak smile back before starting toward her.

"Hey Jack," she greeted me, since we hadn't properly greeted each other yet (even though it wasn't exactly necessary).

She grinned at me with pink cheeks and I noticed she was wearing more makeup than normal. She'd painted her eyelids golden, which made her brown eyes look brighter. She winged her eyeliner, a look I had never seen on her before. She had on a shiny peach-colored lip gloss that really taunted me. I just wanted to lean into those lips, but I really couldn't do that. Especially not that day. _Especially_ especially not when I was supposed to be sparring with her.

I looked back up to her eyes, not wanting her to notice me gazing at her lips. I knew before I walked in that it would be an uncomfortable practice.

"Hey." I tried sounding casual.

"Um, so, let's get to it?" She suggested, shrugging her shoulders. Her voice was higher than usual. She was trying just as hard as I was to act normal. Clearly.

"Let's!" And that time, my voice was probably as high as hers. I cringed when I heard that come out. I cleared my throat, then put on my gear.

And I was so distracted thinking about what happened the night before that I almost let Kim beat me.

 _Almost_.

Of course I would never really allow that. I wasn't going to allow anyone to beat me. But she did come close. So close that Rudy ended up calling time out just to ask me if I was all right. I told him I was, then I went back to sparring and gave it everything so that Rudy wouldn't be suspicious anymore.

When practice was over, I tried to dress fast so that I would be out the door first. I didn't want to end up having to speak to Kim.

And I was the first to get dressed, but Kim was the second, and right when I walked out of the dojo, I heard the doors reopen, and then my name was called by a sweet voice that I knew to be Kim's. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.

I turned around to see her, back in her pink dress, and looking up at me, smiling huge.

"Jack?"

"What's up?"

She took a step so that she was right in front of me, a little too close, and I was a little too tempted. I could see down her dress perfectly. I tried to watch her eyes.

"I was just wondering if you wanted to… like, maybe, go get… some dinner. Pizza or something," she said, sounding nervous, like she was asking me on a date. Which, maybe she was.

But I couldn't do that. I shook my head and watched her smile turn to a frown. "Sorry, Kim… I just kinda have to get home," I lied. Right then, the dojo doors opened again and Jerry and Eddie and Milton all stepped out, laughing about something. Looking over Kim's shoulder at them, I added, "Oh, but, hey! Maybe they'll be up for it!"

Kim's eyes got big and she shook her head. "Oh, Jack, no, I really was hoping it would just be—"

"Hey guys!" I called out, interrupting Kim, and all three of them looked over at me. "Kim wants to get pizza. Do you guys wanna get pizza with Kim?" I asked them.

"Ha! Oh, Kimmy, you know I'm always up for some pizza!" Jerry said excitedly, walking over to Kim and putting an arm around her.

Kim just looked at me with an almost hurt expression, making me feel bad. I just looked away.

"Yeah, that sounds good," Eddie decided, going to stand with Jerry and Kim.

"I'm up for it," Milton was the last to agree, and when he joined the group, I took off.

"Have fun, guys," I said.

Then I left. I felt bad, but I left.

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 **A/N: So what do y'all think happened 'that night'?**

 **If no one reviews I most likely won't continue because I really don't know if people still, like, even read Kickin' It stuff anymore? Like I said, I am new here! Really don't know much about this fandom. But I do love it!**

 **Anway, if you do want me to continue, please review so I will know! :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Thank you KickForever99 and ElenaKickShipper for the reviews! It made me really happy to see those!**

 **Wow. I'm seriously intimidated by the amount of views chapter 1 got. I don't think I knew what I was getting myself into here! With my other stories I get like maybe, if I'm lucky 7 views the night I post it? Seriously. And I post one chapter of this story and it has like nearly half the views of my longest, oldest story on here. THAT IS INSANE.**

 **THIS FANDOM IS INSANE.**

 **I DID NOT KNOW THAT.**

 **But it's okay. I kinda like it :)**

 **Also, now that I think I have kind of a plan for this, I decided that this won't end up being very long. Which is better anyway. Shouldn't be trying to write a novel-length fanfic for a show I only just recently got into, huh?**

 **DISCLAIMER: I don't own Kickin' It or any of these characters.**

 **So anyway. Chapter 2.**

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Chapter 2

 **Three Days After**

Kim kept looking at me. All throughout class, she would look at the board for a minute, then look at me for a minute, then back to the board, then back to me, and that kept going on. It was driving me crazy. I just kept looking down at my notebook, the blank page in front of me. I should have been taking notes, but I really couldn't even concentrate with Kim staring at me.

I was still avoiding her. Of course I was, though. What else could I have done?

Okay, a lot of things. There were a lot of other things I could have done. A lot of better ways to go about the situation. But at the time I was a dumb kid and I could not think of any other way. So I just didn't look at her.

Problem was, she had no problem looking at me. And I didn't get that. Why wasn't she as freaked out as I was?

The last few days the sound of the bell ringing was the most beautiful sound in the world to me, because it meant I could finally go to Spanish class and get away from Kim.

When it did ring, I went fast. I didn't even put my notebook back in my backpack. I just kept it in my hand, threw my backpack over my shoulder, and hopped out of my seat as quickly as I could. I practically ran out the door, taking a right to get to Mr. Cordoba's room, which was now my safe place.

But that day I did not make it.

It had worked the two previous days because I sat next to the door and Kim sat on the other side of the room, but I knew from the way she'd been looking at me that she wanted to talk. And no matter how fast I was, if she really wanted to talk she would match my speed and end up right by my side.

"Jack, wait," she said when she walked up beside me.

And there I had to stop, because I had no other option, unless I was just going to ignore her and keep on moving, which would be totally wrong of me. Then again, avoiding her for the last three days had been totally wrong of me too.

Kim grabbed my wrist, causing a jolt to run through me. I tensed up. She pulled me over to the wall so we wouldn't be in anyone's way.

"Hey Kim," I said casually, smiling at her like nothing was any different.

She bit her lip and furrowed her eyebrows, confused, and I couldn't help but notice how cute she looked at that moment.

"Jack…" She said my name again, looking down at the floor. "Have you been… avoiding me? Or something?" She asked shyly.

I didn't have the chance to get out a 'What? No way! Why would you think that?', because she only paused for a second. Kim tended to talk a lot when she got nervous.

"I'm just asking because I feel like maybe you are and I really don't want things to be weird with us or anything and, um, so, if you wanna just, maybe, forget it ever happened, I guess that'd be fine," she rambled, gesturing with her hands and not quite meeting my eyes until she was finished talking.

"What? God, sorry Kim… Um, I've been busy. It has nothing to do with… that. With you. Just… that annotated bibliography thing for English? I don't understand that at all. Still. And um… the Health project. Just a lot of stuff," I told her, trying to sound like I was telling the truth.

I could tell by the look on her face she wasn't really buying it. She was looking beside me, at the wall, with unhappy eyes. I wanted to make her feel better, but it was like my mind wasn't working properly and I couldn't think of a single thing to say to her. I just wanted to walk away from her. And I hated that.

"Okay. Well, maybe, when you're free, we could do something?" She suggested, meeting my eyes again. A hopeful smile returned to her face.

"Yeah! Maybe," I said, nodding.

Her smile finally reached her eyes and she looked genuinely happy, making me feel a lot better. Except that I knew I wasn't going to be free anytime soon (or I wouldn't let her know if I was).

"Cool! Then I'll see you later!" She exclaimed, hugging her binder tight to her chest. "Maybe, I mean," she added with a shrug.

I just nodded again, smiled again, and she bounced off, opposite the way I was going.

At that time the bell rang, and I started walking again, though not rushing because Mr. Cordoba didn't care much if we were late. Especially since I had been arriving _extra_ early the past couple of days.

The rest of the day I thought about Kim and how happy she was when I said that I might, maybe, possibly, be able to hang out with her at some point in time. Something as little as that made her happy. Just the idea that she might get to see me outside of school, outside of the dojo. Yet I was going out of my way to keep from having to speak to her.

I hated how I was acting, but I couldn't stop myself from acting that way. I didn't know why. I couldn't figure out what it was. How could it have affected us both so differently?

And another question that was really running through my mind: _Had Kim always liked me this much?_

I mean, sure Eddie joked about it, and yeah, sometimes I could see it too. Like when other girls would talk to me, even if they were just saying hi sometimes, I could see a look of annoyance flash across Kim's face. There were little subtle things that she did that made me think that yes, maybe she did have a thing for me, but nothing was _obvious_. And after _that night_ … well, it became insanely _obvious_.

And that was the kinda-sorta upside.

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 **A/N: If you're reading and want me to continue, please leave a review so I'll know! :)**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE REVIEWS! They have been making me so happy :) I am so glad y'all are enjoying this.**

 **One thing I just noticed that's kinda weird, some reviews just showed up but said they were from July 9th? I didn't see them until this morning, July 11th? Just wondering because if some of you commented on the first chapter and I didn't leave your username in the author's note, I am very sorry!**

 **DISCLAIMER: I don't own Kickin' It or any of these characters.**

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Chapter 3

 **One Week After**

I think Kim was starting to realize that I wasn't really busy and I had just made that up to keep from hanging out with her, because she no longer smiled when she looked at me. No, if we made eye contact in class, passed each other in the hallway, she only locked eyes with me for a second before looking away, and she rolled her eyes at me as she did that. She was angry. She was hurt. I understood that.

I didn't know why I was being a jerk and I didn't know how to stop.

At this point, other people were starting to realize that something was up between Kim and me.

Eddie asked me, "Are you mad at Kim? Is Kim mad at you? I never see you guys together anymore. What's up?"

Milton asked me, "Hey, are you and Kim still… friends? Or more? Whatever you two were. Things have seemed kinda weird there the last few days."

Jerry asked me, "Jack, why are you and Kim not talking anymore? What happened? Did something happen? Did she realize she was way out of your league? Do you think she'd wanna go out with me?"

I just told them all that everything was fine. I don't know if they believed me, but they didn't ask anymore questions, and that was all that mattered to me. I didn't want to talk about it. I figured things would work themselves out anyway and eventually everything would just go back to normal, and Kim and I would just be friends again.

Of course, I _had_ always wanted to be more than that. And I'd had the chance to. I'd had the chance to be more than friends with Kim, but I just didn't take it. I thought that was all I wanted in the world. To be Kim Crawford's boyfriend. But maybe I didn't want that as much as I thought I did.

I had too much to think through and nothing to actually say, and unfortunately I had karate practice that day.

When I walked in the dojo, Kim was sitting alone on the bench, typing on her phone. And no one else was in the room.

Kim looked up at me for a second, then went back to her phone, her face unreadable.

I paused, standing in front of the door while it closed behind me, and I went into panic mode. Where was everyone else? What if no one else was going to come? What if they all just decided to leave Kim and me alone because they knew something was wrong and they wanted us to work it out? What if I was actually going to have to talk to her?

"They're at Falafel Phil's," Kim answered my question that I never actually asked without taking her eyes off her phone screen. Her voice was monotone. I had never heard her speak like that.

"Oh." I nodded.

I slowly walked to the lockers, feeling uneasy.

The room was too silent. I had to say something. I hated silence.

"You didn't want to join them?" I asked her, keeping my voice level.

If she could be a rock, I could too.

"No. But you can if you want," she replied. There was a short pause before she added, "If you can't stand to be in the same room as me."

That last part was like a bullet, and there was an awful silence following it that made me want to run away again. Because as much as I wanted to talk and as much as I wanted things back the way they were, I really did not have anything to say.

"Kim…," I said her name, hoping that after that the words might just flow.

But right then the sound of Rudy's office door opening saved me, and we both turned our attention to it. Rudy stepped out smiling, but his smile vanished when he took a look around the room. His expression turned to one of confusion.

"Where's everybody?" He asked Kim and me.

"Falafel Phil's," Kim answered, sitting her phone down on the bench. She stood up. "I'll go get 'em."

"Oh, no, it's fine. You and Jack just start sparring and I'll get them. I'm hungry anyway," Rudy told Kim with a shrug.

He started walking to the door as Kim rolled her eyes in annoyance. Rudy hadn't yet realized that Kim and I weren't exactly getting along, so he didn't pick up on the fact the Kim wanted to get away from me.

Kim put both hands on her hips and turned to look at me. She shook her head. "He always puts us together."

She went over to her locker, which was right beside mine, and took out her bag.

"We're both black belts," I pointed out, putting on my gloves.

"I don't care!" She exclaimed angrily, loudly, finally showing emotion. She threw down the glove she was about to put on, and it fell on top of her bag.

But I admit, I liked her angry voice better than her emotionless voice. It was actually less scary. I felt like I could reason with angry.

"Kim, I know you're mad, but—"

"No!" She cut me off, holding a hand up in front of my face. "I'm fine! Everything's fine! It's just that I would really have appreciated it if you had told me you didn't wanna go out with me rather than keep stringing me along and making me look like an idiot!" Her voice went a little softer at the end, making her sound like she was going to cry. It hurt hearing her like that.

Again, I was silent. Not being able to come up with a single thing to say to make her feel any better. I thought about saying that I _did_ want to go on a date with her, but did I really? Or did I just want to go eat falafels with her and the guys, just like we used to? Did I see her as a friend, or more?

I thought I was so sure before. I thought I was so sure of what I wanted with her. That's why I never hesitated that night, just one week earlier. It was because I thought I knew. But really, I was fourteen and I didn't know anything.

"I'm not doing this," Kim said, interrupting my thoughts.

She reached up and wiped a tear from her eye, then zipped her bag and slung it over her shoulder.

"Wait, don't leave," I tried as she made her way to the door.

But she ignored me, and she ignored Rudy, Eddie, Milton, and Jerry too, who were walking in just as she was walking out. She looked down at the ground, hiding her face and walked quickly away from them.

"Kim?" Rudy asked her, but she didn't stop. When she was out of sight, Rudy turned to me. "Jack? What happened?"

Before I got the chance to make up an excuse, Jerry answered, "Oh, Kim and Jack are fighting. You didn't know that?"

"I thought you _weren't_ fighting," Eddie joined in, looking at me.

"Oh, he just said that because he didn't want to talk about it," Milton told Eddie.

"Jack? What's going on?" Rudy asked again, sounding slightly annoyed. He probably wasn't thrilled to have to deal with our teenage drama.

"Nothing! She's fine. It's fine. Everything's fine," I promised him, though I didn't really even try and sound like I was telling the truth because there was no real point in that. After all three of my friends just informed him we were 'fighting', I doubted if he would believe that we weren't.

"Okay," Rudy said with a tired shrug, clearly just wanting to start practice. "Just spar with Jerry, then."

"What? You want me to be killed?" Jerry looked at me, scared, and I laughed a little.

"No, I don't. I think that would get me in trouble. Jack, don't kill him," Rudy joked, walking up beside me.

"I'll try not to."

He smiled, then put a hand on my shoulder. "And hey, whatever is going on with you and Kim, you can talk to me if you need to, okay?" He told me in a low voice, almost a whisper.

I nodded. "Okay."

But I don't think he would really have wanted me to tell him about what happened. I'd say it would be a pretty uncomfortable conversation.

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 **A/N: Just to remind y'all, or maybe to ease your nerves, this is a total KICK story, even if it might not seem that way right now… ;)**

 **And again, if you'd like me to continue, please leave me a review so I'll know! :)**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Okay so… Some people keep leaving reviews saying that I shouldn't continue because this story is too sad and they don't want a story about Jack and Kim falling apart on here? Or something like that?**

 **So I wanna say—things get worse before they get better. And as I said in the last chapter, this is a Kick story. This is in the romance category for a reason. I don't wanna ruin the end for y'all, but I do enjoy happy endings.**

 **But they are fourteen. And relationships can get complicated, and for someone that age it can be a lot to deal with. I mean, I'm sixteen and I know I couldn't handle being in a relationship. Especially with what happened between them** , **which will be revealed eventually. So just keep in mind _they are still young._**

 **But anyway: I SHIP JACK AND KIM. I LOVE JACK AND KIM. EVERYTHING WILL BE OKAY.**

 **So I'm posting this chapter, and just leave a review telling me if y'all still don't want me to continue after reading all that I just wrote :)**

 **DISCLAIMER: I don't own Kickin' It or any of these characters.**

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Chapter 4

 **Two** **Weeks** **After**

Kim and I hadn't talked since our last practice when she ran out, and it sucked. She was my best friend and I hadn't spoken to her in a week. I missed her, honestly. But I couldn't let her know that.

I'd been watching her at school (she didn't even look at me anymore) and she was starting to only talk to the other cheerleaders. She wasn't even talking to Eddie or Milton or Jerry. It was like she just became a new person.

In English, she had started talking to the guy who sits in front of her. His name was Taylor. He was taller than me, tanner than me, and—as much as I hated to admit it—he had better hair than me. He was on the football team too, and it surprised me that Kim would go for someone like that. She'd always told me she hated jocks. She said they were all idiots. I guess she changed her mind.

Anyway, I hated Taylor.

My friends were noticing how much time she spent with him too, and that made things a lot worse because they wouldn't shut up about it.

"Uh-oh Jack, don't look behind you," Jerry said, looking over my shoulder at lunch one day.

Of course I did look behind me because when someone tells you not to that's the first thing you do.

And it was Taylor and Kim, going through the lunch line together while they looked at each other like they were in love. It made me sick, but I was trying to show my friends that I didn't care what Kim was doing, so I didn't let it show.

I turned back to Jerry and shrugged. "So?"

"So? Your girl's with some other guy! Doesn't that bother you?"

I rolled my eyes. "She's not my girl, Jerry. She's just… a girl."

"Ugh," Milton groaned, sitting his milk down on the table. "When are you gonna tell us what happened between you two? We're your best friends. We should know."

"Yeah, Jack. And Kim was your best friend until, like, two weeks ago. For some reason. You can't just pretend nothing happened because obviously something did," Eddie said.

"Good point! Also, now Kim won't talk to us either and… I miss her!" Jerry admitted sadly, crossing his arms. "She was the best looking friend I had. I used her to make other girls jealous all the time."

"Well I'm sorry you don't get to use Kim anymore, Jerry. That's a shame," I said sarcastically, standing up and picking up my tray.

"Where are you going?" Milton asked.

"Warren's room to make up a quiz. Might as well do it now. I'm not hungry and you guys are annoying," I replied.

I put my tray away and left the lunch room, pretending not to notice Kim sitting down with Taylor at the table right by the door.

Outside the lunchroom I ran straight into Lindsay, bumping my head with hers.

"Ow!" She exclaimed, taking a step backwards.

"Oh God! Sorry Lindsay! Are you all right?" I asked her, putting my hand on her shoulder.

She looked up, realizing it was me and smiled. "Oh yeah. I'm fine, Jack. Don't even worry about it," she told me in a tone I could only describe as flirty.

And then I got an idea.

If Kim was moving on to someone else, I could too. If she was over me, I was over her.

"Glad I bumped into you though," I said, leaning closer to her and talking to her in the same tone she talked to me in. "I'd been meaning to ask you something, actually. Do you wanna see a movie with me Friday?" I asked her quite confidently, sort of knowing she would say yes. Lindsay had been into me for a while.

A huge smile broke out across her face. "Sure! That sounds like fun!"

"Great. I'll text you!"

I pulled my phone out and handed it to her. She put her number in and that was that. It was all set. I had a date with Lindsay.

When she walked away from me, though, I realized that I didn't actually like Lindsay and I might have made a mistake. But oh well. I was becoming the King of Mistakes and I figured I should own it.

At practice that day Kim never even showed up, which just made things worse at the dojo.

Everyone was questioning me, and yelling at me, and blaming me (which, yes, it was my fault, but I still didn't like when everyone pointed that out). Rudy told me (in private) that I had better make up with Kim because she was just as crucial to the dojo as I was.

Everyone was pissed at me, including me. And I knew they were all right. We needed Kim back and I was the only one who could get her back.

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 **A/N: Kinda short chapter because I'm not sure how y'all are feeling about the story right now! Let me know :)**

 **Reminder though, to some of the reviewers, if you don't like the story that is your opinion. You don't have to read it!**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Again, thank you for all the reviews! I love reading them and seeing what y'all think is gonna happen, or what y'all want to happen! It's very interesting :) And those just letting me know that you're reading what I write and you're enjoying it… that makes me smile! So thank you thank you thank you!**

 **DISCLAIMER: I don't own Kickin' It or any of these characters.**

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Chapter 5

 **Three Weeks After**

I'd been putting off talking to Kim, but I knew I would have to eventually. I had to get her back in the dojo. I didn't know how I was going to do that, but I figured I would just try begging. And if that didn't work, I'd… cry or something. Basically, I didn't care how I would do it as long as I did it. Either way, I was getting her back. Back at the dojo, and eventually back as my best friend.

The day before practice was the day I decided on, and I was jittery with anxiety nearly all morning just thinking about approaching her.

I remembered when I had absolutely no problem talking to her. When I could tell her practically anything. When she told me everything. When it really was just as easy as that. As easy as, 'oh, there's Kim, I'm gonna go tell her about how Frank cried in Biology because he didn't know any of the answers on the quiz'. I'd tell her, then we'd laugh, then she'd tell me about something that happened in her last class, too.

Neither of us even though twice about it.

And all of sudden it was over, and it was a horrible, complicated and confusing mess that we both just tried to ignore. Though it wasn't easy to ignore it. At least not for me. I hoped it wasn't easy for Kim either, but it sure looked like it was.

She stood at her locker, Taylor right by her side, smiling and looking down at her. She was smiling too, saying something to him as she put away her Geometry book.

I was still watching them, feeling like going over there and using a few of my best karate moves on Taylor, when I felt a hand on my shoulder.

"Hey Jack," Lindsay said, leaning close to my ear.

 _I did not feel like talking to her right then_. Or, you know, ever, really.

Our date was okay. We saw some chick flick, Nicholas Sparks kind of movie, and she loved it, and I hated it. About halfway through she laid her head on my shoulder and wrapped her arms around mine. I kind of liked that. But I did wish it had been someone else instead of her. She just wasn't my type.

She was nice and she was pretty, and other than that she was a little clingy, there really wasn't anything _wrong_ with her, but I just didn't feel anything for Lindsay.

But the bright side was that it was working. Dating Lindsay was making Kim jealous. I knew because of Jerry.

He told me on Friday, "Kim asked if you and Lindsay were dating. She seemed mad." He nudged my arm in a hint-hint way and smiled.

"She did?" I asked, too excited, and when I continued I made sure to sound calmer. "I mean… okay. That's… something." I shrugged it off, but I knew he could tell I was thrilled to hear that.

"You should definitely kiss Lindsay in front of Kim," Jerry suggested. "It would be awesome to see two hot girls fight. Plus, when Kim wins, then you can get her to come back to the dojo! Everyone wins!"

I laughed lightly. "Not doing that, Jerry. But thanks for… trying to help," I said, giving him a pat on the shoulder.

So Kim was jealous. Why else would she ask about Lindsay and me? And if she was jealous, then that was that. I had her. All I had to do was talk to her. Which was the scariest part.

Taylor walked away from her locker and turned my way. I looked at the floor then, pretending like I hadn't been watching him and Kim. He went upstairs and Kim was alone. And then it was my time. My shot. I had to get to her before she took off for her next class.

"Walk me to class?" Lindsay asked me, smiling and bringing back to reality.

"I… can't today," I answered, feeling bad. "I just. I have to talk to someone." I looked over at Kim, making sure she was still there.

Lindsay—unfortunately—followed my gaze. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw her put a hand on her hip. I looked back at her. Her face was angry. She did _not_ like Kim.

"Kim? Don't you two hate each other now?"

"What? No," was my immediate answer because no, I could never hate Kim. No matter what. And I got the feeling she could never _really_ hate me either. She was just mad. And people get mad. And that didn't mean she hated me, right?

"Well everyone said that you did!" She rolled her eyes. "Whatever. Fine. Go talk to Kim. I don't care. You can just do whatever you want, Jack," she said in a tone that told me I really should _not_ do 'whatever I want'.

But I ignored her tone because it was something I had to do. For Milton. For Jerry. For Eddie. For Rudy. For me. I just had to get her to come to karate practice. That was all. Her and I could reconcile later, but at that time all I was focused on was getting her back in the dojo.

Lindsay stomped away when I looked back at Kim, who was closing her locker.

I started walking to her as she turned around. When we locked eyes, Kim stopped. She didn't give me a mean look, like she had been doing, but instead she looked almost scared. Her eyes grew big and I saw her grip on her textbook tighten. Something about her looked so childish at that moment. I knew she was practically a child. I knew fourteen was practically a child. But I never thought of it that way. And when I looked at her standing there I felt even worse than I had before.

We were both kids, and it wasn't fair for us to be in the situation we were in. It wasn't fair of me to mess with her heart the way I had.

I tried giving her a smile as I approached her. She didn't smile back.

"Hey," I said. Simply.

"What do you want?" She asked and even her voice sounded small and innocent.

"I just… wanted to know if you were coming to practice tomorrow." I crossed my arms awkwardly. There was at least three feet in between us.

"Are _you_ coming to practice tomorrow?" She asked, raising her eyebrows. I already knew where she was going with that.

"Yes."

"Then no, I'm not," she answered meanly.

"Kim, it can't be like that! We need you!" (That was where the begging came in.)

"You made it clear that you don't," she said, monotone, shrugging her shoulders.

Then she walked away, leaving me with that bomb.

When I saw the guys and they asked if I had talked to Kim yet, I just said no. But then the next day when they asked, I knew I had to tell them something, so I just told them the truth, that I couldn't get her to come, and they were mad at me the whole day.

When I walked in the door of the dojo, Rudy looked at me and shook his head. They had already told him that I couldn't get her back.

"I'm sorry! I tried!" I defended, still standing in the doorway.

"Not hard enough, clearly, because we are still Kim-less!" Rudy said, throwing his hands up in exasperation. "Ugh, I have a headache. All of this teenage drama. Why can't you guys just work things out? You're fourteen years old. Life is simple."

"How is life simple? I mean, it's like… nothing is real… and then we all just die… I mean, nothing matters…" Jerry said, slowly waving his hand in front of his face.

There as a long pause as we all stared at him.

"Okay... thank you Jerry, for that… maybe you should see a therapist or something," Rudy broke the silence, furrowing his eyebrows at Jerry. "Anyway. Let's just go ahead and start practice before we all end up questioning reality. Jack, you with Jerry because you suck and you couldn't get Kim back."

"And we all hate you," Eddie chimed in, narrowing his eyes at me.

"Yes, exactly," Rudy said, pointing at Eddie. "Spar, you guys," he ordered.

We all started moving, putting on our gear. I was sliding on my head gear when I felt Jerry slap me on the back.

"Dude," he said quietly, looking behind me.

"What?" I asked him.

" _Kim_!" I heard Rudy exclaim, so excited I thought he might piss himself.

I turned around and saw Kim, holding onto her bag, standing in front of the door. She smiled and waved at Rudy.

"Hi," she said, almost shyly.

And then Rudy ran to her and trampled her.

When she got back up from the ground, she was fine, and everyone gave her a hug. We made eye contact while she hugged Jerry, and she gave me the slightest, softest smile I had ever seen, but I knew I saw it.

She smiled at me.

I (slightly and softly) smiled back.

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 **A/N: Not the best chapter, but I hope y'all like it.**

 **Leave a review if you're reading so I'll know to continue! :)**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: All right, WARNING: This chapter gets dramatic, and some swear words are thrown around, and I don't think there has been any swearing in my previous chapters, so I'm just giving y'all a heads up. It's not something I will include often, but it felt necessary here. But there's not even a lot anyway.**

 **But this is rated T though, so that should be expected!**

 **ALSO I'M SORRY IT'S KINDA LONG BUT THIS CHAPTER IS IMPORTANT.**

 **DISCLAIMER: I don't own Kickin' It or any of these characters.**

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Chapter 6

 **Four Weeks After**

I really thought Kim and I were getting somewhere after she showed up at practice last week, but she had hardly acknowledged me since then. I said hey to her the next day in the hall, and she waved, and just barely smiled, then kept walking.

I still was convinced things were getting better though because in English she totally ignored Taylor, and at lunch she sat with Grace instead of him.

But she looked sad.

I wanted to ask why, but I knew I probably shouldn't. She probably wouldn't have told me anyway.

That was last Wednesday.

And on Thursday and Friday she didn't even come to school. The idea that it was my fault never even crossed my mind. Why would it have been my fault? Nothing had changed between us, really. If anything had, it was actually for the better. I mean, she did wave at me. And that kinda-sorta smile she'd given me at practice? It wasn't my fault. Though my friends still blamed me.

"God, Jack, now she's not even coming to school. What'd you do this time?" Jerry asked me at my locker on Friday.

I held my hands up beside me in a ' _what the hell?_ ' kind of way before I answered, "I didn't do anything! I got her back at the dojo. We were like this close"—I held my hand up, my finger and thumb just a centimeter apart—"to making up. Whatever is wrong, it is so totally not my fault this time!" I promised him rather loudly, closing (slamming) my locker.

"Woah, dude, chill." He held his hands in front of him. "Sorry for making an assumption. Of course, you can't really blame me, though. Shit's been going down between you two for a while."

"Whatever, Jerry," I said tiredly, dismissively. I turned away from him, about to go to my next class.

"Well, wait, so you think she's just sick or something?" Jerry asked me, putting a hand on my shoulder.

I turned around. "I don't know!"

"Ooh, you know what I bet it is?" Jerry said, and I could practically see the light bulb turn on above his head. "Taylor. She wasn't sitting with him Wednesday. Maybe it's his fault instead of yours and when she comes back to school she'll run back into your open arms!" He sounded like he was describing the plot of some stupid romance movie. One Lindsay would like.

I rolled my eyes, but had to laugh a little. "I'm sure that's gonna happen," I said sarcastically.

The bell rang then and I mumbled a curse word, knowing Mr. Warren didn't like when we were late. I started fast-walking away from Jerry.

"Wait, Jack, where you going?" He asked me sort of a dumb question.

I turned back around. "To class?"

"Oh. Ha! Nerd," he joked, pointing a finger at me.

I just walked away then.

On Monday, Kim was back. She still ignored Taylor, which made me happy, but she still didn't look happy. In English she just doodled in her notebook. She didn't even look up once.

I couldn't stand seeing her like that, so I finally decided I could at least ask if she was okay. It didn't have to be awkward.

Monday I went up to her in the hall while she was looking at something on her phone. I tapped her shoulder and she spun around, sliding her phone into her pocket nervously.

"Don't freak. Just me. Not a teacher," I said, hoping to get a little smile.

She did smile, but it was forced. "Oh, hey," she spoke, crossing her arms and taking a tiny step backwards.

"I was just wondering… you've seemed kinda…" I trailed off, searching for the right word. "Down. Are you all right?" I asked.

She nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine. But I have to get to class. I'll see you… tomorrow, I guess," she replied, then walked away from me, up the stairs.

 _Well that got me nowhere,_ I thought as I watched her run upstairs. I didn't get it. I just didn't know what page we were on. I knew things hadn't gone back to normal yet, and it probably would be a while before they did, but we had made some sort of progress since the last week, right? I was allowed to ask her if she was okay, right?

I didn't know anything anymore and I was so sick of everything being so confusing. I wanted things to be the way they were four weeks ago. I was starting to think Kim and I were never going to get back to that point and that scared me.

That was yesterday, and today was the day when we couldn't avoid each other. The day we had karate practice. Well, she could avoid me by just not coming, but if she did that then Rudy would probably murder me. And Jerry and Milton and Eddie would help. So I really was hoping she wouldn't go that route. She may have been mad, but I'm sure she would have felt bad if I ended up dead on her account.

As weird as she had been acting at school, though, I really did half-expect her to skip practice. But she didn't. When I walked in she was standing with Rudy in front of his office. He was taking selfies with her. Which was sort of weird.

"Um, Rudy?" I said his name, confused.

"Oh, hey Jack." He locked his phone and slid it into his pocket. "Just taking some selfies with Kim."

"I see that. That's totally normal of you," I said, sarcasm evident in my voice.

"Well I just missed her so much." Rudy shrugged.

"Rudy! I only missed, like, two practices!" Kim pointed out, laughing.

I was glad to see her laugh. I couldn't help but smile at that. She looked so pretty.

"Oh, I know. But still. You're my favorite student, you know," Rudy told her.

"Wait, what? You must be forgetting I saved this dojo!" I reminded him, holding up an index finger, pretending to be offended.

"Yeah, but Kim and I have so much more in common."

"What, are you a cheerleader?" I asked.

Kim giggled, and I couldn't remember the last time I got Kim to giggle. At that moment, things really did feel just like they did a month earlier, and I couldn't take my eyes off her.

"Maybe," Rudy replied.

The rest of the gang walked in together then, and all of them greeted Kim first, probably not expecting her to show up. Probably ready to blame me for her absence. But they could no longer blame me. I had gotten her to _laugh_. We were fine. Clearly.

Kim sparred with Milton, though, that practice as well as last practice. Of course, that was Rudy's choice, but he probably made the right one. Not pairing us up. Even if we were _fine_ , we still weren't _great_ , and it was still pretty awkward. But soon it wouldn't be. Or, I told myself that at least.

I was beginning to think Jerry was right, that whatever was wrong with Kim now had to do with Taylor, because at practice she really did seem okay. Like her normal self. I hadn't seen her that way in way too long.

When it was over, I said bye to her, and she shyly said bye back, and I couldn't help but smile like an idiot on the way out to my Mom's car.

But all of that must have distracted me, because when we were almost home I realized I'd left my backpack there. My Mom, after snapping at me and rolling her eyes, turned back around and drove me the fifteen minutes back to the mall so I could get it.

I didn't bother calling and asking Rudy if he was still there, because he usually stayed there until the mall closed.

And today must not have been an exception, because when I rounded the corner and the dojo came into sight, the lights were all on.

I walked up to the door and looked inside before opening it. Surprisingly, I saw Kim. She was breaking boards. I saw a pile of wooden pieces by her, and I couldn't imagine how long she had been doing that. Probably since practice ended. She broke a board, shook her hand, massaged it a little, then reached for another.

I walked in then, sort of slowly, not wanting to startle her. She turned her head my way, but I couldn't see her face from the way her hair was hanging in front of it.

"Kim?" I said her name cautiously, feeling like there was something wrong.

"Jack? Why are you here?" She asked.

She looked back down at her board. She reached up wiped her eyes, then tucked her hair behind her ear.

"Forgot my backpack," I answered. "What about you?"

"I just… felt like breaking some boards. Rudy's having dinner with his mom tonight, but he said I could stay here. He gave me the keys," she explained, still not meeting my eyes. She just looked at the board.

"Well… so, any particular reason you felt like breaking some boards?" I questioned, just another way to ask 'what's wrong'.

"Um, no."

"Kim, come on," I said, walking closer to her so that I was just a couple feet away. "I know you're still kinda mad at me, but I really wanna be friends again. You used to tell me everything. You can still tell me everything," I assured her, leaning on one of the boxes that held up her wooden board.

She shook her head. "Jack."

"What?" My voice was low, almost a whisper. I needed her to trust me again.

I leaned forward to where I could see her brown eyes, but she shook her head again and took a step back from me, just like she had in the hallway the day before. Her small hands were in fists. She turned and walked to the other side of the room.

"Kim! Please. I know you're mad, but—"

"Yeah, I am!" She yelled, her angry voice coming out of nowhere and surprising me. But then, just as sudden, she was crying. "I'm really fucking mad! I'm _so_ fucking mad!" Tears ran down her face. Her words came out strangled.

I didn't say anything, because I knew she wasn't finished yet. I just slowly walked closer to her.

"But not just at you! At me, too. And at the world. And just, everything! I'm so mad. This past month has been such a load of shit! Like, nothing has gone right and I'm so tired of being mad! And sad! I just wanna go back in time! Damnit! Fuck!" She screamed the last two words, looking up at the ceiling.

There was a short pause, and I knew that was where I came in.

"I am so sorry for what I've said. What I've done. I'm sorry about what happened. We obviously weren't ready. I'm sorry that it fucked, like, everything up. I'm just really really fucking sorry. In a general way. And I just want you to be happy. And I wanna be happy, too. And I wanna make everything right again. I don't know how, though. But I'm trying here," I told her, just being honest, just saying whatever I thought to say. I didn't stop and think. I just said what I felt like I needed to say. And maybe that was what I should have been doing the whole time.

She finally looked at me with teary dark eyes. "It's not all your fault, though, either. I know everyone's been blaming you for everything, but it was both of our decisions. So I'm sorry, too."

I smiled, feeling like things were finally going to be all right.

"So now why don't we just… move on and forget all this?" I suggested.

She looked away from me again, off to the side, and another tear rolled down her face. She wiped it away. "I really don't think we can do that, Jack."

At that moment it felt like my heart sank into my stomach. "What? Why?"

She clenched her fists again, and looked up. She took a deep breath before she spoke, and she said the last thing I expected her to say.

"I think I'm pregnant."

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 **A/N: ;) ;) ;) ;)**

 **Please keep reviewing if you'd like me to continue! :)**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Thanks for all the reviews on the last chapter, some of them were cracking me up, haha!**

 **So his is it! The 'where it all started' chapter. This is what happened 'that night', and I'm sure y'all already have an idea of what it is from the last chapter, but there's a little more to it than just… that.**

 ** _Takes place on the day that Jack decides not to go to Otai Academy, so like when the cameras cut off after the episode 'Hit the Road Jack'._**

 *****IF THIS CHAPTER IS A PIECE OF SHIT I AM REALLY SORRY. I actually kept procrastinating writing it and I don't know why it was so hard to write for me but it was. But I knew it was crucial so I sat down and forced myself to write it and it might be awful and I'm sorry and I love all of you.**

 **DISCLAIMER: I don't own Kickin' It or any of these characters.**

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Chapter 7

 **Four Weeks Earlier**

"Well, I'll see you later, Jack," Kim said, picking her backpack up from the bench and slinging it over one shoulder.

"Yes you will." I picked her textbooks up and handed them to her.

She smiled and took them, then started toward the door of the dojo. I didn't want her to go, but there was no reason for her to stay.

As if she had read my mind, she turned back around, still smiling a huge, pretty smile. She looked perfect. She always did, though.

"You know, Jack," she started, looking at the ground as if she was nervous. "I'm really glad you're staying here. I would really miss you if you, um, moved to another country."

I laughed a little. "I would really miss you too if I moved to another country," I admitted.

She smiled again before leaving the dojo. I had the urge to run out after her and ask her if she wanted to hang out for a while longer, but I didn't. I always wanted to, but I never did because I just kept thinking: _what if she doesn't like me?_ Everyone was telling me she did. People at school even asked me when I was going to ask her out. But how could I be sure she would say yes?

Now I know that it wouldn't have been the end of the world if I asked her out and she said no, but I was afraid that if that did happen it would ruin my friendship with her, and I would rather have been stuck being just her friend for the rest of my life than be her _nothing_. I wanted her in my life. I wasn't going to ruin what we had.

And I probably would have never made a move if it weren't for Kim forgetting to zip the front pocket of her backpack. And for Jerry for being around when a letter with my name on it fell out.

Jerry came running in the dojo, coming right up to me and holding an envelope up to my face.

"Jack! This fell out of Kim's bag. It has your name on it! So it's probably for you," he said excitedly.

It was the envelope Kim had given me before I told her I wasn't going to Japan. She'd decorated it with three stickers, and written my name across the front. I gave her one too, but once I told her I was staying in Seaford, we both took ours back.

I admit, I was dying to read it, thinking—hoping—that it might be her telling me how she felt, that she really _did_ like me, and I wouldn't have to wonder about it anymore. I'd finally know. But when she took it back I just thought that it was for the best. Remaining friends would be for the best. For me and her and everyone.

But it was back. Right in front of my face. I could touch it. I could open it. I could read it. I could finally know.

But I knew I shouldn't. It wasn't fair.

"Oh… I can't read that," I told him, pulling his arm down by his side so that the letter was no longer staring me in the face.

"What? Why? It has your name on it," he repeated, confused. He held it back up, waving it in front of me.

"Yeah, but… she wrote it for me when she still thought I was leaving. And I wrote her one too… and then we switched back after I told her I wasn't going and… you know, it really just wouldn't be fair if I read hers," I explained and pulled his arm down again.

He rolled his eyes. "So? Fuck 'fair'. You know exactly what this is! It's a love letter! It's her confessing her love for you! You can't not read it. You don't have that kind of self-control. No one does," he said, holding it out to me then.

I wish I could say that I held off longer than that, that he pressured me into opening it, that he threatened to read it himself if I didn't, or something like that, but that didn't happen. He was right when he said I didn't have that kind of self-control because I hardly hesitated after that. There was a maybe five second pause between him holding the letter out to me and me taking it from him.

I knew it wasn't fair, but I was too curious.

I did have some self-control, though, because I waited until I was home to read it. I wasn't going to read it in front of Jerry, even though he begged me to. He would have taken it from me and read it, and I didn't want anyone but Kim and I to know what it said. It was a Jack and Kim thing.

When I got in my room at home, I threw my stuff down and got the letter out of my backpack. I ripped it open and sat at the edge of my bed.

It read:

 _Jack-_

 _I'm gonna write down all the stuff I could never say to your face right here. I hate that it had to take you moving to another country for me to get the guts to do it, but whatever._

 _I'm so happy that you got into Otai. I mean, it's an incredible opportunity, and you're gonna do amazing over there. You're truly the best of the best and I'm proud to call you my best friend._

 _But as proud of you as I am, as great of an opportunity as this is, I can't help but feel a little (a lot) sad thinking about not seeing you every day. I don't even know what I'll do with you gone. Nothing will be the same. You've changed my life so much, and all for the better. Seaford has been my home longer than you have been my friend, but I don't think it'll feel that way without you around. You've become part of me, part of home, and I think this place will feel empty with you gone._

 _You've just always amazed me, ever since we first met. And I remember saying how I didn't have a crush on you, and I hope you know I was lying. If you didn't know that, well, now you do. I have a huge, horrible, heartbreaking crush on you, and I always have, and I probably always will. Even when I'm thirty and married, I'll think of your smile and I bet I'll feel thirteen again. Because there's just something about you. Something really really great. I see it, and so do a lot of other people._

 _So I hate that I'll never know what it's like to be more than friends with you. But I will be okay. I hope Japan amazes you in the way you amaze me and I hope you always remember just how beautiful you really are._

 _Everything is brighter when you're around._

 _Love,_

 _Kim_

When I finished reading it, I read it again. And again. Then I folded it up and laid it on my nightstand.

Then I stayed sitting on my bed and staring at my wall for a while.

Then I read it again to make sure I had read it right because I couldn't believe that it really said everything that it did.

It wasn't just her telling me she liked me. It was so much more than that. It was beautiful in the same kind of way a poem was. It had meaning. It had everything. And I had never felt so good before. And I had never felt so strongly for Kim.

I felt like I loved her. Or something like that.

And I had to see her.

I knew she would be mad that I read her letter, but I figured if I told her I felt the same way about her then maybe she would let that go.

I went to her house for her fourteenth birthday party a couple months before then, so I knew just where it was, and it wasn't too far from mine. I took my skateboard and got there as fast as I could.

I ran up to her door and rang the doorbell. While I waited, I took off my helmet and ran a hand through my hair, not wanting helmet hair when I had my first kiss with Kim. (Yes, I planned on kissing her. Of course.)

It took a while for her to answer, and I was afraid no one was home, but finally the door opened and her eyes met mine.

She smiled at me, a surprised look on her face. "Jack? What are you doing here?" She asked, but she sounded pleased.

"I read your letter," I blurted out, feeling guilty.

Her smile vanished. She looked terrified. "Oh my God…" She said, eyes widening . She looked down. "How did…?"

"It fell out of your backpack and Jerry picked it up and I'm sorry. I know I shouldn't have read it, but I was just so curious and… and it was…" I trailed off, trying to think of a word to describe it. "Awesome." Not the best word, but the only one that came to mind.

She didn't look any less scared, though. "Um…"

"And I like you too," I interrupted her, wanting to see her smile again.

She did smile. Her cheeks turned a shade of pink at the same time.

"And I think you're amazing too. And I can't imagine leaving Seaford because I can't imagine leaving you. I mean, there's plenty of reasons I decided to stay but you were number one. The thought of coming back in four years to you being eighteen, being grown up and being possibly a totally different person… I hated that. I wanna be here. With you," I told her everything I never did, basically what I'd written in my letter, and then I took a breath. A shaky, nervous breath, and waited for her to speak.

There was a pause before she finally said, "I'm so happy you're here." She opened up the door wider, motioning for me to come inside. "My parents are at some kind of dinner party thing," she informed me, closing the door once I was inside.

She turned to me, still just smiling, and I was smiling too, and neither one of us could stop smiling. It was a perfect moment.

After a minute she took my hand (and that felt right) and she led me up the stairs, bringing me to her room. I didn't think anything of that right then, and I knew she didn't either. She just wanted me to see her room, and I just wanted to see her room. It was innocent.

But things took a turn pretty quickly. Very quickly. So quickly we barely even noticed.

First I was just looking around her room. She showed me some of the pictures she had on her board (I was in two of them), then introduced me to her favorite stuffed animal (Jelly Bean, a bunny), then she turned on the TV. She left it on Friends and sat on her bed.

Then she looked at me, and she said, "You can sit down." She patted the spot right next to her.

And I sat.

And I watched her watch TV for a minute, and she just looked so pretty, and I really wanted to kiss her. I had been wanting to kiss her for a long time. I wanted to do it that day. It would be the perfect day if I could kiss her.

So I did.

It really was that simple, and it wasn't something I ever thought would be simple. I touched her shoulder, and she looked at me, and then I kissed her. She kissed back. It lasted at least five seconds. I felt pretty good about it.

Actually, really good about it. Way too good about it. The kiss had hypnotized me, screwed up my brain, and I said something I probably shouldn't have said.

"I think I love you."

That was when the mood changed. That was when she smiled and leaned in again. Kissed me again. That was when I was so high, so screwed up in my mind, that I could not think, and I could not process any of what was going on, and everything simply happened. I just did whatever felt right.

I remember asking her if she was sure she wanted to do it, and I remember her saying yes, but after that I don't remember much of anything. I just acted on impulse. Everything was immediate. And when it was done, there really was no going back.

But everyone knows that.

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 **A/N: So that's that… kids moving way too fast… :(**

 **BUT HEY, makes for an all right story, huh? :)**

 **Please leave me a review if you're enjoying this so I'll know to keep writing it!**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Thank you for all the reviews! Y'all make my day.**

 **So we're back where we left off on Chapter 6 :)**

 **DISCLAIMER: I don't own Kickin' It or any of these characters.**

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Chapter 8

 **Four Weeks Later**

 **(Continued)**

"I think I'm pregnant."

When Kim said that, my mind shut down, and all I could think was: _No_.

No, no, no, no. No, this isn't happening. No. I'm fourteen. She's fourteen. No. No, no.

 _No_.

There was no way I could have spoken. It wouldn't even have been possible for me to open my mouth and say actual words. I just stared back at Kim, while she stared back at me, and I waited for her to say something, and she waited for me to say something, and it was quiet for a while. I don't know how long. It felt like an hour. It may have only been a minute. _I don't know._

But eventually she spoke.

She said, quite angrily, "Once again, you have nothing to say, right? Of course! Whatever. That's fine. I just didn't know you were a 'hit it and quit it' kinda guy. I'm starting to realize I never knew you that well in the first place."

Then she stormed off, leaving the dojo, leaving me standing there staring at the wall.

What she said didn't register with me right then because, as I said, I couldn't think. I couldn't process. I had shut down. But later it would hit me, and I would feel terrible, but at the time I was just frozen and numb.

Kim came back about a minute after stomping out, though, for just a second. She came in the door, laid the keys on the table, said, "Here," in her mad voice, then left again.

About a minute or two after that someone else walked in.

My Mom.

"Jack! What are you doing? Let's go! I need to make dinner!" She called out to me from the doorway. She was using her mad voice too.

Hearing my mother's voice pulled me back to reality enough to get me to actually move. I turned my head toward her and mumbled a 'sorry' before walking over to her.

She put a rough hand on my shoulder, lightly pushing me back. "What about your backpack?" She asked impatiently.

"Oh." I turned back to the dojo and went to the bench where my backpack sat. I picked it up and joined my Mom once again.

She shook her head at me. "Where is your brain today?" She laid a hand on top of my head and ruffled my hair like I was kid (which I was).

I just shrugged.

The next day when I had to go to school, I told myself I was going to talk to Kim. I would make myself do it. I wasn't going to avoid her like I had before. I was going to fix things with her. If she was pregnant, if we were _having a baby,_ then we needed to get our shit together. I was done running from my problems. I might be a Dad, and Dads don't do things like that.

I really tried imagining having a kid, too, but it didn't seem possible. I just felt like such a kid myself. Probably because I was.

And I was absolutely terrified, if I didn't mention that yet. Because it was forever. One night I didn't think and all of a sudden everything was different _forever_. I wanted things between Kim and me to be normal again, but if she was pregnant that would _never_ happen. And if she was pregnant then I was going to have to tell my parents that I got her pregnant, which meant telling my parents I had sex, which would be the most uncomfortable conversation of my entire life. And then, several months later, I would have a kid, and I would be trying to juggle school and karate and parenthood and probably a job all at once. And then that kid would be dependent on me for eighteen, maybe more, years. And I didn't even really like kids.

As bad as it was for me, I knew it would be even worse for Kim, at least in the short term. Her parents thought she was perfect. She told me that one day when she was freaking out over getting a C on her report card. They thought she was an angel and they didn't accept any mistakes. They would be too furious to even speak to her, I imagined. And then she would have to quit karate (Rudy would die), and cheerleading, gymnastics, everything. People at school would talk about her, and call her a 'slut' (I'd seen all that in the movies). Her life would be ruined.

And it felt a lot like my fault.

So I was going to make things right and I was going to be her friend. Be there for her. Because it wasn't fair and she didn't deserve it.

I walked up to her when she was at her locker before school started. She was struggling trying to get a buried book from underneath her seven other books (we only used about three of all those).

I reached into her locker and held up all the books on top while she slid out the one she needed. Then I simply said, "Hey."

She closed her locker before rolling her eyes at me. I almost repeated the action when I realized she was going to make it difficult.

"You don't have to do this," she told me.

"What do you even mean?" I asked tiredly.

"You don't have to… talk to me. It's fine. Don't even worry about it."

And I did roll my eyes then, and I lost it. Just a little bit.

"Oh my God, Kim! Why do you keep doing this to me?" I asked her, throwing my hands up in exasperation. "Can you just let me say something? Let me talk? Like, for once? Because I'm really sorry about the way I reacted—"

"You didn't react!" She pointed out, interrupting me.

"Well, Jesus, Kim, it's kind of a really big deal and I was shocked and I didn't know what to say! And guess what? I still don't. Because I'm a kid and this is an adult situation. But I want things to just… be better with us. Especially if you… _are_. So please. Can we just _try_ and be friends again?" I begged, trying to get my voice to sound gentle rather than annoyed, though I wasn't sure I was succeeding.

Kim still look pissed, but surprisingly she said, "I guess so."

I smiled. "Good."

She looked to the floor then, her face turning from angry to almost sad for some reason that I didn't get.

"What's wrong?" I asked, oblivious.

"I just… what if I am?" She crossed her arms, looking up at me.

I shrugged. "I don't know," I answered honestly. "We'll deal with it."

"Okay," was all she said.

That moment we acted like it was simple, but we both knew it wasn't.

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 **A/N: This one's kinda shorter, I guess. Didn't expect it to be, but oh well.**

 **If you want me to continue this, please keep reviewing! :)**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: THIS IS THE LAST CHAPTER. :(:**

 **Hope y'all have enjoyed it. I have.**

 **DISCLAIMER: I don't own Kickin' It or any of these characters.**

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Chapter 9

 **Five Weeks After**

The past week was something different. Something good, but also something bad. A pretty good mix of the two, actually.

The good part was that things between Kim and me were getting better every day. She was back to sitting at our lunch table, which pleased Jerry. She told me about every little funny, or out of the ordinary thing that happened in class. We talked in between classes, and then walked to English together. When our teacher said something strange we'd make a face at each other from across the room.

It was normal. Things were just like they were a month ago. Sometimes I even forgot about all the things I was trying to forget about.

But then sometimes it was all I thought about.

Like when I would look over at Kim in class and see her staring off into space and even though her face was emotionless I knew she was thinking about it and she was terrified. Then I would think about it too and suddenly things were scary again. It was some kind of terrible roller coaster and I wanted to get off.

Kim and I never talked about it though. I had some questions, but I just figured she would rather me not ask them, so I kept them to myself and decided they would be answered in time.

I didn't know how or when she was going to find out for sure if she was or wasn't, so I was just waiting for her to tell me the good or the bad news.

The news came on Tuesday morning right _after_ the bell rang. I was about to walk in the door to History when I felt a hand grab my arm and pull me out into the hall.

It was Kim, and she pulled me far enough away from the door that the teacher wouldn't see me.

Her smile was too big and her eyes were too happy for it to be anything but exactly what it was, so before she even said anything I smiled too, and relief flooded over me, making me feel oddly lighter. Like at that moment I could have flown.

"I'm not pregnant," she told me so excitedly that she laughed a little as she said it.

I was so shocked, and so ecstatic that I could hardly speak. I laid a hand on her shoulder as I took a deep breath.

"You're sure?" I finally managed to say.

She nodded. "I, uh, got my period this morning, so," she told me, slightly embarrassed, as if she wasn't sure she should tell me that.

But it was the best news I had ever heard.

"That's the best news I've ever heard," I said my thoughts out loud for once.

She laughed. I honestly had never seen her that happy in my life, and she just looked perfect standing there in front of me, with her blonde hair curled and her lips glossy and pink. And I wanted to kiss her again.

And I did again.

In the middle of the fucking school hallway when anyone could have walked by, I kissed Kim. But in the middle of the hallway was much better than on her bed because even though I would kiss her in the hallway there was no way I would have sex with her in the hallway. So therefore the hallway was a safe place. No babies would be made in the hallway.

When we leaned away from each other, her smile was gone, and her mouth was in the shape of an 'O', while her eyes were wide open.

When I saw her expression, I immediately apologized. "Sorry! God, sorry, I was just so… happy."

And then she broke out into a smile again. "It's okay. I get it," she said, nodding.

It was about that time that our moment was interrupted by Mrs. Barnette, the Calculus teacher, coming up behind Kim.

She put a hand on her hip and glared at us both. "Why aren't you two in class?" She asked.

Kim jumped, startled, and turned around. I probably should have warned her. But at least she hadn't seen us kiss (I don't think).

"Oh. Sorry. We were just… going… to class…" Kim answered nervously, fidgeting with the beaded bracelet on her wrist.

"Right now," I added, pointing to the door of the History classroom.

Kim nodded and gave Mrs. Barnette a smile. Mrs. Barnette just continued frowning at us.

So we both quickly made our way to our two different classes, going opposite ways, but we looked back at each other and smiled before leaving each other's sight.

At lunch we couldn't contain our happiness, our pure joy, just relief, and our friends noticed something was up. Of course.

"You two look happy," Milton observed, not trying to insinuate anything, but simply making conversation.

But of course Jerry's mind just went to one place. "Yeah, did you guys, like finally hook up or something?" He asked.

Milton kicked his leg under the table and Jerry let out a loud 'Ow!'. But then he laughed.

"Nah, I'm kidding," he said. "It didn't hurt. Milton, you know you could never hurt me. Literally felt like a fly landed on my leg," he told us confidently. "So anyway, back to Jack and Kim and their future marriage."

If he had said that the day before, it would have been painfully awkward, but right then, on that day, Kim and I just looked at each other, smiled, and rolled our eyes, because nothing he said would make that day a bad day. Things were finally okay again, and we were finally just kids whose biggest problems were not knowing our math formulas.

And nothing was better than that. So nothing anyone said could have bothered us then.

To make it even better, though, in my last class we got our Biology tests back, and even though I thought I failed, I actually got a 91.

Now, this was a huge deal to me because that was one of my worst subjects. It wasn't as bad as Geometry, but it was bad. So my first thought when the bell rang was: _I have to tell Kim_. Because Kim always made better grades than me in that class so I wanted to, sort of, if I was honest, rub it in her face.

I started toward her locker, knowing she always stopped there before leaving school.

But instead of putting her books away, she was standing off to the side by the doors, with _Taylor_. I moved to where she wouldn't see me, on the other side of the hall, and watched them talk. It looked serious. He looked angry. From where I was standing, I couldn't see her face, so I really couldn't tell what was going on.

After a few minutes, he finally left after rolling his eyes at her, and she turned after him, watching him walk away. She looked upset, but not mad, not like him.

I almost let it go, almost left, almost pretended not to see anything, but then I realized that if it were a month ago, and I saw that, I would have gone over there without even thinking about it and asked Kim what was going on. So I did that.

I approached her while she was slowly walking to her locker, looking at her feet. I put a hand on her shoulder to get her attention, and she looked up and smiled tightly.

"I saw all that. Is everything okay?" I asked.

She shook her head. "Yeah… he was just upset because… I've been 'a bitch' to him. Apparently. Which, I mean, yeah, I guess that's true. I have been ignoring him, but really I guess I never felt the same way about him as he did about me anyway, so…" She trailed off, crossing her arms.

"Were you two…?" I couldn't get out the word 'dating', so I just let her fill in the blank.

"Ha, no. I just talked to him because I wasn't talking to you, honestly," she admitted, sounding half-embarrassed.

I shrugged. "I just talked to Lindsay because I wasn't talking to you."

"Good. Lindsay's annoying."

"You're right about that," I agreed.

She laughed. "Well bye, Jack. I'll see you at practice," she said, taking a step away from me.

"Bye Kim."

I waved a little, though she was already several feet away, and she didn't notice. I smiled as I watched her walk away, though, her long blonde hair bouncing just slightly with each of her steps.

We were finally back to being best friends again.

And what that made me realize was that I didn't want that. I had spent the last month wishing things would go back to normal, and they finally were, and then I remembered why everything changed in the first place.

 _I never really wanted to be her friend._

"Hey, wait, Kim," I called out to her.

She stopped and turned back around, waiting for me. I fast-walked to catch up with her and stopped just a few steps in front of her.

And then I said, "I think it's about time we go on a date."

And she smiled and said, "I think so too."

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 **A/N: Ahhh I can't believe I just wrote the last chapter :') It was such a quick little story, but only because I enjoyed writing it so much! I just didn't wanna wait (plus I don't have a life so).**

 **And this has been so fun, writing for this fandom. Y'all are all awesome. This will DEFINITELY NOT be my last Kick story! I have fallen in love. And I'm kinda sad this story's over, but I really hope y'all liked the ending. I kinda did… :)**

 **I'm gonna post a LEOLIVIA story on my Wattpad soon, if any of y'all ship that you can follow me GracePres on there! I just love Leo and Olivia, and I just love Jack and Kim, and I just wanna write about them forever and ever.**

 **Again, THIS HAS BEEN AWESOME. Thank y'all soooo much for reviewing and making this so great.**

 **-Grace :)**


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